Roll-towel cabinet



July 2, 1929. v E. T. HAlLs h 1,719,429

ROLL TO'WEL CABINET Filed June 11, 1925 my] Y ILy (Enemy/1J Patented July 2, 1929.

UNITED STATES EDWARD TROY HAILS, OF. MONTGOMERY,

PATENT OFFICE.

ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR T0 STEINER SALES COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

BOLL-TOWEL CABINET.

Application med :rune "11,

A My invention relatesto roll towel cabinets and has the following more 'important objects in view.

1st. To so mount the clean and soiledtowel Tolls in the cabinet that they maybe connected by spring means which will hold them at all times under constant tension against their respective towel feed rolls. I thus secure a constant equalized frictio al pressure between each towel roll and is respective feed roll by reason of the fact that the distance between the towel roll centers will remain constant as the towel is unrolled from one roll and taken up on the other. 2nd. To avoid the necessity of grasping a soiled portion of the towel in order to bring a 'clean portion of the towel into position to be used, this being the practice now universally obtaining and which is obviously objection'- able for sanitary reasons. p p

3rd. To provide eiiective i means for straighteningut and smoothing the soiled towel so as to insure its rolling smoothly and evenly on the soiled towel takeup roll.

4th. To provide in the cabinet a partition effectively separating the clean and soiled towel compartments and adapted to keep the clean towel free of Contact with the soiled towel at all times.

5th. To provide a very simple and eifective means for indicating the available amount of clean towel in the cabinet.

My invention also comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts,which are hereinafter more particular'- ly described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a partof this'speciiication, and in which :f

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the 'cabinet showing the connecting gears for the feed rolls and the pedal operated mechanism for feeding out clean towel portions, the view being `taken withthe adjacentpend wall of the cabinet removed.

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 and showing the towel roll assembled.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional viewtalren on the line 3-3 vof Fig. 2 and showing the roll as sembled in front elevation.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

I show my invention embodied in a cabinet subdivided to vprovide aclean towel compartment 1 and a soiled `towel compartment 2, `but 1923. seriai No. 644,554.

obviously these compartments may be separated if desired. In the embodiment shown, the cabinet, which may be formed of wood, metal or any suitable material, comprises a topB, a vertical back Walla, two side walls 5 and 6, and a bottom 7. Thefront ofthe cabinet is closed by a door 8 suitably hinged to the side wall 6 and having its bottom spaced from the front wall portion 9 so as to leave a towel outlet slot 10 extending transversely across the bottom of the cabinet, having a length sufficient to accommodate the towel 11 and permit it to pass freely out through the lower front portion of the cabinet. The towel is shown being unwound from a clean roll 12 which is disposed in the compartment l, and has the ends of its shaft or axis 1 3 movable in inclined ofset guides 111 attached on one side to the wall 5 and onthe other side to a verticalpartition 15 extendingfrom front to rear of the cabinet in spaced parallel relation with the end wall 6. y These guides 14 are formed by spaced inclined angle irons which slope downwardly from the rear towards the front, the lower angle iron extending far enough beyond the upper iron to permit the iilled. towel roll to be `inserted at the `upper back portion of the clean towel cabinet 1 and dropped in the top of the guides `down which it will travel until it engages its respective friction feed roll 16. This roll 16 has its axis journaled at one end in the wall 5 and at the other end in the partition 15 beyond which it overhangs into the compartment 17. The horizontal partition 18 between compartments 1 and 2 extends from the rear to a point closely adjacent to the front door when closed, leavingjust sufficient clearance between its forward edge and the door for the clean towel to ride freely over it and down through the front portion. 4of the compartment 2 and out of the front opening 10, the

`clean towel being held to the front suiciently to keep it outof contact with the soiled towel as itis rewound on thesoiled towel roll 19 in compartment 2.

Thesoiled towel roll 19 is received in guides 14C, mounted as in theclean towel compartment, except that they extend 'closer to the top of this compartment and the upper or front one need not be shortened by reason of `the fact that the soiled towel roll is inserted upwardly from `the @lower fron-t end of` the guides. The axes of the towel rolls 1-2iand 19 will slide freely in their respective `:guides` 14 and the guides are'l sufficiently spaced from the adjacent ends of the roll proper to permit the mounting on the axes of connecting spring tensionmeans which will now be described. l

At each side of the cabinet I provide a coil spring 2O connecting a pair of hanger arms 21 and 21a, the upper arm 21 having at its free end an eye adapted to lit loosely over the clean towel roll axis. The lower arm 21a has a .hook to catch under the 'axis of the soiledftowel roll. A suitable opening 22 is provided in the partition at each side to permit the. spring hangers to pass and work through the same. By connecting the spring rh'aoigerson the roll axes in the manner described, the clean towel roll is drawn downwardly against its friction feed roll 16 and `the soiled towel roll 19 is drawn upwardly against its friction feed roll 23 which is dis- Y posed above it and to oneside in the direction of its travel in its guides 14.

` rllhe friction feed rolls have their shaft -ends overhanging in the compartment 17 providedwith gears 24 and 25-wh1ch mesh sfo that the two rollswill turn 1n unison 1n opposite directions.l rlhe upper'roll 16 turns j. inthe direction of the feed of the clean towel while thelower roll 23 turns opposite to the feed of the `soiled towel, thus serving to straighten, smooth out and l prepare the soiled towel for winding on the roll 19.

The towel, after completing its loop below the cabinet passes upwardly through an opening 26 at the rear of the bottom 7 of the cabinet and is Vengaged by a hinged door 27 disposed within the lcompartment 2 and pressing by gravity against'the towel. This door and the opening 26 extend the full ywidth of the .towel and lthe door hasV side guide fianges 28 which depend and guide the towel between them' and over the free edge of the door so that it will pass upwardly in proper position over the straightening roll 23 and'thence to the soiled towel roll 19. The opening 26 is large enough for the hand to be inserted freely upwardly therethrough in threading a clean towel, which is done by passing the free end of the towel upwardly through the opening 26 and drawing it over the roll 23 and connecting it by any suitable mea-ns to the soiled towel roll. f

Inithe-top of the clean towel compartment I provide an indicator comprising a stem 29 g thus serve as asufiicient indicating means to showv when the clean towel is approximately exhausted.

The shaft of the clean towel feed roll 16 is projected beyond its gear 24 and has mounted thereon a combination ratchet wheel. and sprocket which is conventionally illustrated in F ig. 1, and comprises a. sprocket wheel 32 mounted on a ratchet wheel 33, balls being interposed between the teeth of the ratchet wheel and the sprocket so that the latter', when turned clockwise in Fig. 1, will clutch and turn the ratchet wheel, and when turned counter-clockwisewill release and move independently of the ratchet wheel. This is typical of any standard sprocket and ratchet drive to the shaft of the roller 2l, the end of which is squared or otherwise made fast to the ratchet wheel A sprocket chain 31.1; engages the sprocket wheel, one end of the chain being connected by a coil spring 135 to the bottom 7 of the cabinet and the other end being connected to a cord 36 which passes down through an opening 37 in the bottom to the free end of a pedal 37 hingedly connected at 38 to the floor and disposed in position to be depressed by the foot of any one desiring to use the towel.

The method of assembling and operating my sanitary, positive-feed roll towel cabinet is, as follows. The clean towel is provided, wound on the roll 12, the front door is opened, the indicator is pushed up, and the roll is introduced at the upper rear end of the guides 1i in the clean towel compartnlent l. llefore the roll is introduced the spring hanger members 21 are slipped over the ends of its axes so that they hang in position between the rolls and the guides. The other hangers 21a on the springs are passed downwardly through the partition opening 21 and the clean towel is drawn forward between the roll 12 and the feed roll 16 and over the forward end of partition 18 and passed outwardly through opening 10 below the door and then, after leaving an ample loop, is passed back up through the opening 26 and over the feed roll 23 and then connected to the soiled towel roll 19 which has been introduced in the lower front ends of its guides in compartment 2. rlhe hooks 39 at the lower ends of the spring members 21a are then caused to engage the axes of the soiled towel roll, thus yieldingly connecting the axes of the two rolls 12 and 19 so as to press each with the desired tension against its respective feed roll 16 or 23. rlhe spacing between the spring connected axes remains constant., he ing unaffected by the transfer ofthe towel from one to the other and hence the spring tension can be adjusted so as to prevent any slippage of the towel and to make sure' that for each portion of the clean towel-drawn off an equal portion of the soiled towel will be rewound, otherwise the loop would increase in length with objectionable results.

When one desires to use the towel, the pedal 37 is depressed by foot, the feed rolls 16 and )lll 23 are rotated by the action of the sprocket chain transmitted through the ratchet wheel to the feed roller 16 and through the meshing gears 24 and 25 to the roller 23 and a fresh towel is thus fed out mechanically and without requiring the soiled towel to be grasped and pulled to expose a clean part of the towel. rlhis isa highly sanitary arrangement as it provides for the mechanical feeding of the clean towel. and is in effect the same as if an individual clean towel were provided for each user. The amount of towelling thus fed can be controlled by the angular rotation imparted to the sprocket wheel. Vhen the towel has been used up the soiled towel roll is unhooled from the spring hangers and removed and the clean towel is pushed up through its guides and lifted out and the cabinet is then filled in the manner already described. y

Though I have described with great particularity the details of the embodiment of the invention herein shown, itis not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as changes in arrangement and substitution ofl equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A roll towel cabinet having clean and soiled towel rolls rotatable and movable toward and away from each other, feed rolls fixedly ournaled in the walls of the cabinet and geared together, one contacting below and the other above a towel roll, and elast-ic means to press the towel rolls in opposite di rections against their respective feed rolls.

2. A towel cabinet having therein a clean towel supply, and a soiled towel take-up roll, said cabinet vhaving an opening in its bottom and a door in said bottom to open upwardly, but normally covering said opening, means for rotating the soiled towel take up roll to draw the toweling through said opening and over the edge of said door as it passes to the take up roll.

3. A roll towel cabinet having clean and soiled towel rolls, bodily movable relatively and having projecting end axes, a feed roll for eachtowelroll, guides for the axes of the towel rolls and elastic tension elements each element connecting corresponding ends of said towel rolls, and adapted to press them against their respective feed rolls. t

4:. In a roll towel cabinet, a clean roll towel, a feed roll therefor, a soiled towel roll and a feed roll therefor, driving connections between the feed rolls, means whereby the towel rolls will exertipressure upon the feed rolls, a guide for the soiled towel to the feed roll of the soiled towel roll, said feed roll adapted to move in a direction opposite to the movement of the soiled towel passing over it.

5. In a roll towel cabinet, the combination of casing, a partition partially dividing the interior of the casing into two compartments, a clean towel. roll in the upper compartment and a soiled towel `roll in the lower compartment, inclined guides for supporting said i feed rolls and means for driving said rolls at a uniform speed, means for causing said towel rolls to exert pressure upon the feed rolls and guides for the towel to the soiled towel roll, one of said guides adapted to exert a tension upon the soiled towel as it enters the cabinet. w

G. A roll towel cabinet having an intermediate transverse partition subdividing it into clean and soiled towel compartments,

y means to mount a towel roll and a feed roll co-acting therewith in each compartment, means to connect the feed rolls for driving in unison, towel guides which serve to guide and keep separate the clean and soiled portions of the towel, and common spring connectors which engage and press the towel rolls against their respective feed rolls, there being slots in said partition through which said connectors pass freely.

7 .y A towel cabinet having a rotatable towel roll, a feed roll contacting therewith and operative betweenthe towel web and towel roll to smooth the towel before reaching the towel roll, and means for operating said feed roll in a direction opposite to the movement of the towel web ther'eover, and in frictional contact therewith, and with the towel roll.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDIVARD TROY HAIILS.

CIK 

